Earth Thou My Love!

“The Earth has its music for those who will listen.”— George Santayana

Ah, the rustle of those leaves, the rhythm of the waves and the sweet sound of the wind echoing through the mountains… Heaven trails below our feet as the majestic sky reflects its shadow above us. Are you listening to the music?

Today, the fifth of June is observed as World Environment Day world-wide. The United Nations Environment Program pioneered this initiative in order to create global awareness about all those problems Earth has been facing.

However, is one day good enough for us to realise that Earth needs our nurture? Now, more than ever, is one day enough to pay it back for the life Earth provides to us? Do we even realize the damage that we are causing to this abode we call Earth — that which provides us oxygen, food and life?

We have been confronting many events and incidents that made a huge impact to the environment, which, in some way or the other, affect our health and our way of living. And, we haven’t raised our voices enough against them.

The Kodaikanal Mercury Pollution to state: When one of the leading corporations in the world decided to dispose of its harmful mercury waste, without proper protocols, into one of the most beautiful places the south of India has to claim, things got worse. Not only was the whole of Kodaikanal affected by this in some measure, the workers who had been in the industry especially started complaining about kidney failures and other health problems.

The Bhopal gas tragedy — one of the most unimaginably horrific man-made disasters the world has seen. The region is still permeated with radioactive substances and people living in and around Bhopal are still suffering from the consequences of what happened all those years ago. These are just two poignantly shocking examples amongst a thousand others that we witness each year.

Are we okay with what is happening?

No? Thank you for taking a stand to fight for a better, healthier place to live in.

Yes? To begin with something that can influence our ignorant state of mind: Environmental issues are one of the primary causes of disease, health issues and long-term livelihood impact for India. [Source: Wikipedia]

Pollution is increasing a thousand fold each year. Delhi was called the most polluted city in the country till recently and was close to be crowned as the most polluted city in the world! This lead to the odd-even measures that Arvind Kejriwal adopted to control air pollution in the capital.

The emphasis on the need to think, act and behave responsibly and to be “environment inclusive” in our actions has never been more pronounced. As Leonardo DiCaprio said, “Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating.”

Time for some good karma? You can do your bit to be the superhero that saves the planet. You can start off by adopting and practicing these simple environment friendly activities that will make your day more pleasant.

Beaware of the resources we use.

Reduce, reuse, recycle and upcycle.

Stop littering.

Be animal friendly and protect wildlife.

Use less fossil fuel based products.

Plant more trees. Always!

Use biodegradable products which can easily be decomposed.

Strictly avoid the usage of plastic.

Environment Day needs to extend to each and every day. And each day we need to be responsible for our actions and the kind of consequences those actions can lead to. Think of it this way — if we keep depleting what is being beautifully offered to us by nature, there will not be a place for our future generations to live. If only our previous generations were careful enough, we wouldn’t have had critical problems like drought, unnaturally hot summers, rising sea levels and depleting ozone layer. Would you like to place your future generations in the hands of an even more destroyed Earth?

The time to act has always been NOW. This has to be the most pressing issue we need to tackle. If now is not a good time, then when is? If we, collectively, don’t act upon this, who will?